It’s true, the old saying—give 50 monkeys electric guitars and sooner or later they’ll write “Louie Louie.” And the proof lies in one of the greatest unsung bands of the bubblegum music era, Lancelot Link and the Evolution Revolution.
How unsung? They don’t even merit a chapter in the 2001 Feral House Bubblegum Bible Bubblegum Music Is the Naked Truth. Or a mention even. And this despite the fact that Lancelot Link and the Evolution Revolution were real live chimpanzees! Who played cool kiddie punk songs like “Sha-La Love You” and “Magic Feeling”! And looked even cooler playing them!
Could it be because playing rock and roll wasn’t Lancelot Link’s day job? Link spent the bulk of his time foiling the evil plots of C.H.U.M.P.’s nemesis, such as Baron von Butcher, Creto (his chauffeur), and Ali Assa. Seen on ABC Television’s Saturday morning all-live-chimp Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp. Being a secret agent is a time-consuming gig, which could be the reason why Lancelot Link and band only released one LP, 1970’s Lancelot Link and the Evolution Revolution. That or the TV show got cancelled after one season.
Here’s a fun fact—the chimpanzee actors on Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp, were given chewing gum to get them to move their mouths so that human voices could be dubbed over them. You can’t get any more bubblegum than that! You didn’t have to give the guys in the 1910 Fruitgum Company chewing gum to get them to sing “1,2,3 Red Light”! The poor bastards were working for peanuts!
Who were Lancelot Link and the Evolution Revolution? Well, Link sang and played guitar, while love interest and fellow A.P.E. agent Mata Hairi was relegated to tambourine, probably because her Dumb Dora whine of a voice disqualified her for vocal duties. Bananas Marmoset (aka Blackie) played drums, while SweetWater Gibbons played the Farfisa organ, even if he was generally shown playing a Vox Continental. Not that I know the difference!
And this being 1970 and all, and television being at least three years behind the times and all, Lancelot Link and the Evolution Revolution looked Summer of Love groovy indeed—just check out the video for the hydrogen bomb blast that is “Wild Dreams (Jelly Beans)” if you don’t believe me.
Wigs, one really freaky orange floppy hat, a couple of hippie vests, granny glasses—even the organ is paisley. And they look even groovier on the album cover (dig that polka dot hat), which for some reason features six band members. Who, I’ve often found myself wondering, are the other two chumps, I mean chimps? Session players? Hangers-on? Their drug dealers? It’s one of those mysteries that may never be solved, but they sure look like drug dealers to me.
The boring reality is that most of the songs were written (or co-written) and performed not by Lance and Company, but rather by one Steve Hoffman, although I find it hard to believe he played everything. This is the problem (and glory) of bubblegum music—getting at the truth is rarely a simple matter. Why, it’s quite possible the actual chimps played on some of the tracks! Dan Walsh (not to be confused with the Canadian bluegrass musician of the same name) and Harvey Price (who gave us “Não Vou Negar (Heaven Knows)” by Os Selvagens, which I’m sure you know all the words to!) also contributed two songs, and the best ones, in fact.
I know what you’re wondering—is the music on Lancelot Link and the Evolution Revolution any good? The answer is yes. That’s a conditional yes, mind you—there are no immortal bubblegum anthems on the LP, but there are several near misses, and unlike most of their chewy chewy competition, Lance and the Evolution Revolution weren’t afraid to kick out the jams.
Just check out “The Evolution Revolution,” which proceeds at a frantic clip and features Link playing some truly nasty guitar, some frenetic organ by SweetWater Gibbons, and a kick-ass horn section. And when Lancelot sings, “Don’t you want to try something new?” you say yes! Join the Evolution Revolution? Just tell me where to sign up!
Most of the songs on the album are your average piece of Bazooka Joe in reverse—they taste juicier the longer your ears chew on them. Walsh and Price’s “Sha-La Love You,” which was originally intended for The Grass Roots, grows more anthemic by the listen; I originally thought it was just so-so, but now I wonder why—the damn thing’s infectious, ebullient pop fare with a primo chorus, and Hoffman has the perfect bubblegum voice. Great acoustic guitar intro, a beat you can play Twister to, and an organ that knows just when to come in and do its thing. “Magic Feeling” opens on a hard rock note, then goes power pop in a big way. It’s not GREAT bubblegum music—it meanders some, but magic it is.
“Live” features one far-freaking-out hard rock guitar, a driving beat, and a simple message—you gotta live! That’s what we’re here for! The backing vocals hit the sweet spot, the organ is played by a monkey who just put his organ grinder out of a job, and it’s la-la-la lunacy for tiny humans who think there’s LSD in their Juicy Fruit. “Rolling in the Clover” is every bit as catchy as you’d expect—upbeat, and who needs crimson when they’ve got this one?
“Yummy Love” opens on a Monkees note, then a harmonica comes in, and the Evolution Revolution go full yummy-in-the-tummy in the great bubblegum ready-made tradition. It’s no “Yummy Yummy,” but it’s not bad, and I love how Hoffman sticks to the chimp theme by singing, “She really made a monkey out of me.”
“Vibrations” is Billy Ray Cyrus-school rockabilly lite with great honky-tonk piano and has Hoffman hugging and a-kissing and singing “Super-static Instamatic, electric vibrations/Rollin’ up and down inside of me,” which is one of the cooler lines you’ll ever hear. No wonder he wants to walk his gal home from school. And he ends the song with a very chewy chewy, “Chomp chomp!/Chomp chomp!”
“Teaser” borders on country rock, boasts one very cool saxophone and a wiry guitar, and has Lancelot at the final link of his chain—his girl’s a tease, and he’s ready to walk, and who the hell is this girl who doesn’t want to do the chimp with a secret agent/rock star? Is she bananas? “Wild Dreams (Jelly Beans)” has a fifties flavor—listening to SweetWater pound the eighty-eights (he may be known for his Farfisa work, but he’s got some Jerry Lee Lewis in him), you want to shout “Go cat, go!” And it’s a real race to the finish line, too, with Lancelot/Hoffman spitting out the words as fast as he can.
“Kissin’ Doll” sounds like a toy store jingle and appropriately enough takes place in a toy store, and guess what? Lancelot finds the “kissin’ doll” he’s looking for in the form of a real live sales clerk! And he turns on his chimp charm! “Daydreams” is California dreaming dreamy, a lovely and carefree little pop confection with great female backing vocals.
“Blind Date” opens like a Monkees song but goes nowhere, but boy does Hoffman, I mean Link, sound enthused. Which leaves us with the de rigueur “Lancelot Link Opening Theme Song,” which should not be confused with guitar shredder and Racer X/Mr. Big vet Paul Gilbert’s “Lancelot Link,” which is a nifty little acoustic lark. The Evolution Revolution’s song boasts your standard cheesy Seventies TV theme song horns and a very Monkees organ and proceeds at a breakneck pace, with Hoffman tossing in the names of Lancelot’s friends and foes, my favorite line being “Lancelot Link, what you gonna do?” He stands for justice, Lancelot does, and seeing justice done is no easy job, what with the likes of Baron von Butcher, Dragon Woman, Dr. Strangemind, Wang Fu, and the Duchess on the loose. This one’s not as good as the Mr. Ed theme song, not even close, but then again, Mr. Ed never put out a solo album, did he? Because a horse is a horse of course of course but Mr. Ed couldn’t sing for shit!
Lancelot Link and the Evolution Revolution occupy a unique position in the bubblegum music pantheon. Forget The Beagles, the Banana Splits, and all of your animated Archies types—Lancelot Link and the Evolution were the real deal. Living, breathing, rock-your-ass-off chimpanzees. The REAL Monkees.
And for a brief spell at the dawn of the Seventies, they were the hippest, most turned-on band in kiddie world. You could tell they’d passed the Acid Test! Everybody else out there were clean-cut squares! I remember watching them on Saturday morning and thinking, “Where can I score some marijuana?” And I didn’t even know what marijuana was!
Fast forward some nine years, and I’m sitting in a house in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, with my friends watching reruns of Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp, while doing hits from a four-foot bong. Those were good times, and nobody had to tell me the Evolution Revolution was the greatest band in the history of the world.
Let’s hear it for peace, love, and bubblegum! And drugs!
GRADED ON A CURVE:
B
